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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#29: Bildungsroman

Often, the stories we read in our youth end up sticking with us well beyond adolescence. We vividly remember our first encounter with imaginative Anne Shirley, the nail-biting rumble between the greasers and Socs in The Outsiders, the fierce camaraderie shared by the Harry, Ron, and Hermione trio, among many other memorable moments from the young adult books we read in our formative years.

This week, all five prompts feature popular elements that are frequently at play in coming-of-age novels. While you are certainly free to write a short young adult story, you can also choose to incorporate these prompts into any other type of fiction.

If you want to revisit some classic YA fiction to get your creative wheels spinning, check out our freshly published list of some of our favorite young adult books!

🥇 Winner

“Time Bomb” by Megan Dang

🏆 Winner of Contest #29

Tick tick tick tick tick tick. Six months. That’s how long I’ve got until the time bomb inside me goes off and I self-destruct and explode into a million little pieces. Because Mom tried to hide it from me but I noticed that telltale bump and that her sweaters were beginning to look tight and I asked, accusatory —“Are you gaining weight?”I was right, she was gaining weight. Just not in the way I thought she was. I’m pissed at her. She knows it, too, but she tries to act like nothing’s wrong, like every day is just another day ...

115 comments 115

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Burning Avocado Tree” by Zilla Babbitt

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #29

As Kiwi grew up we took her to her granpadre’s place more often. We lived so far away that at the beginning, when she was younger, we only went there at Michaelmas time. Before we moved to the America we drove hours and hours home to Guadalajara, and now it takes too many hours and aeroplane rides.Kiwi loved her grandfather and hated Guadalajara. We lived in el Ciudad de Mexico in a tiny narrow street house in a building with thirty others. Granpadre was in his huge empty house full of silence and green waving plants.When Kiwi was ten we too...

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“Two of us, under the bed” by Marte Van Der Linden

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #29

There was something under my bed.It scuttled and pattered and thumped, and it was definitely not the pipes or the wind or any of the other things dad told me made noises in the night. Thump! Bigger than a mouse, I thought, but smaller than a dog. I rolled closer to the edge of the mattress. If I was very careful, I could lean down for a look while being safely cocooned in my blankets. Another thump. A couple of dust bunnies came drifting out from under the bed. My nightlight was nowhere near bright enough to see anything else and I didn’t wa...

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“Things I Have Learned With The Death Of My Mother ” by Barbara Eustace

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #29

I have learned many things with the death of my mother. I have learned that I am not a smoker. When I was young, my mother, the overbearing woman that she was, made it clear that smoking was not allowed. She told me that I must never smoke, that she would be able to smell it if I did. Once she suspected just because I walked home from school behind two girls smoking. I got a thrashing for that, for telling lies. So I never tried smoking. My mother was a formidable woman. You did what she said.But now s...

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“Best of Friends” by Albert Zygier

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #29

Helmut and I were born on the same day in 1920. Our two families lived next to each other in the same building on Blumenthalstrase 17. Our apartment faced the front with a bay window and Helmut’s faced the rear into the courtyard. My parents, like his, were educated, my father a gynecologist, his father a manager of a large department store on Kurfürstendamm, the Champs Elysees of Berlin. My mother taught German Literature, Helmut’s mother didn’t work. Since we started school, we were in the same class, we played the same games, we slept in ...

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This week's prompts

Write a story about someone dealing with family conflict.

Nonfiction – 82 stories

Write a story about someone discovering something new about themselves.

Nonfiction – 52 stories

Write a story about two best friends.

Teens – 73 stories

Write a story about someone falling in love for the first time.

Romance – 80 stories

Write a story about a character struggling to decide how to handle a problem that is morally gray.

Short Story – 41 stories

Stories

“Time Bomb” by Megan Dang

🏆 Winner of Contest #29

Tick tick tick tick tick tick. Six months. That’s how long I’ve got until the time bomb inside me goes off and I self-destruct and explode into a million little pieces. Because Mom tried to hide it from me but I noticed that telltale bump and that her sweaters were beginning to look tight and I asked, accusatory —“Are you gaining weight?”I was right, she was gaining weight. Just not in the way I thought she was. I’m pissed at her. She knows it, too, but she tries to act like nothing’s wrong, like every day is just another day ...

115 comments 115

Read story

“The Burning Avocado Tree” by Zilla Babbitt

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #29

As Kiwi grew up we took her to her granpadre’s place more often. We lived so far away that at the beginning, when she was younger, we only went there at Michaelmas time. Before we moved to the America we drove hours and hours home to Guadalajara, and now it takes too many hours and aeroplane rides.Kiwi loved her grandfather and hated Guadalajara. We lived in el Ciudad de Mexico in a tiny narrow street house in a building with thirty others. Granpadre was in his huge empty house full of silence and green waving plants.When Kiwi was ten we too...

Read story

“Star Lovers” by Daniel Moore

Submitted to Contest #29

A long time ago, there were two stars beyond a distant sky. They lived far away in the pocket of a dark nebula that drifted through the universe. One star was bright and burned forever blue, the other was just as bright and burned forever red. They were relatively opposite but still fundamentally the same. For centuries they circled one another, perpetually caught in the others gravitational pull, dancing for all eternity. In many ways they loved each other. The way one shined so bright and beautiful against the endless void of space in...

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“What Wise Men Fear” by R. A.

Submitted to Contest #29

It isn't the impending murder that's grinding Danny's nerves, not really. It's the fact that the kid, baby-faced and just shy of adulthood, is doing it all wrong.He's got a wine bottle in his hand, of all things. It's broken, somehow, even though those expensive flasks are damn hard to shatter the way this one's been; all jagged edges and dark, dripping beads of Merlot, running red like the blood of the guy the kid's five seconds from stabbing.They're in a well-kept yard two feet from the sidewalk. It's dark. Only one streetlight, barely eno...

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“Provoked ” by Miles Gatling

Submitted to Contest #29

His phone buzzed on the glass coffee table, flashing a number Alec didn't recognize. It wasn't in his contact list. He answered with restraint, trying to hide his anxiety. "Yes." "Mr Black?" "Who is this?" "Mr Black, it's Sonya Borger. Are you still employed at KXT Industrial?" "Ah, hello Mrs Borger. No, I'm currently not collaborating with them anymore. Is there a problem with the equipment?" "No, no problem. My friend wants to instal the system as well, and I thought I would recommend you for the job." "Ah, thank you, but I'm no longer pro...

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“Friendship” by Miles Gatling

Submitted to Contest #29

"You look the part, Sparkle.”“Thank you, Sir Miles. As do you. How many men do you think are here today?”“Hundreds, maybe thousands. Look, don’t worry; we fight as a unit.”Miles couldn't remember the last time he said such words. He spoke from the heart“You grew up fast, lad. You were a knight long before Andre made you one. I thank you, knight Conn.”“Fight well, brother,” Sparkle said, saluting in a proud voice.Miles rode his horse and stood side by side with Mustache, positioned on the other edge of the formation.“A hell of a day to be ali...

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“Burn” by Lynn Penny

Submitted to Contest #29

“Treason! He is accusing me of Treason!” Wynn growled from behind bars holding her prisoner. “How dare he!” “Your Royal Highness, I understand that you are upset- “ “I am not upset, I am furious!” Wynn cut off the poor maid bringing her a meal. A meal and slipped up words revealing the accusation. “What exactly did the king say?” She put more effort into relaxing her words as to not terrify her maid. “He said that you were a threat to the safety and stability of the kingdom.” Wynn’s face had gone from one of fury to one the maid could not re...

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“Fidus Achates” by Rigby Glass

Submitted to Contest #29

It was a trite scenario. Something so overdone that it managed to be both boring and ostentatious at the same time. The middle of a road leading to two opposite places—the forest or the hills. What’ll it be? High sun over the hills or shadows dancing in the forest? Whistle of sharp wind grazing the peaks of the hills or two-bit chainsaw echoes within the forest? What’ll it be? Elevation or seclusion? A higher grace or a darker enigma? What path will lead you to your best self, your best life? What'll it be? What a crock. It wasn’t a m...

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“Stella and Ruby” by Genevieve Taylor

Submitted to Contest #29

Stella and Ruby were the best of friends. Everyone knew it. At five, they learned to fly together, their bony still-growing wings struggling to beat as they jumped from low tree branches onto the ground with their small hands, sticky from pilfered candies and sap, linked between them. It took them weeks, but they came out strong and soaring with matching scrapes on their knees and their cheeks appled up with glee. Once they learned how to write, they passed so many notes in class that their teachers gave up trying to stop them. By the ...

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“The Art Of Getting Bi” by Brina Ryce

Submitted to Contest #29

“I’m kicking you out.”Dylan freezes. Milk drips from the spoonful of Fruity Pebbles stuck halfway to his mouth and onto his solid grey Mack Weldon boxer briefs.“What?”Hanna’s hair is thrown up in some messy twist thing that’s probably supposed to look messy in a cute way, but it’s mostly just the regular kind of messy—like maybe she didn’t bother with a brush, or has sworn of hair grooming indefinitely. The toddler attached to her hip tugs her hair then sneezes once—twice. She grimaces and wipes her cheek with the sleeve of her Henley, makin...

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“Lilah” by Maria Windsor

Submitted to Contest #29

Some things you just can’t explain. Feelings surging up inside because of a certain scent or image or face. Knowing things and not knowing how you knew them. Lilah was like that. Nobody else seemed to notice her, but I did. I saw her walking by at the subway, her copper-gold hair flowing behind her, the weighty folds of her emerald-green skirt gripped in her fists. I saw her standing in the small strip of forest beside the highway, her dark eyes staring blankly at the cars whizzing by. I saw her standing at the top of a bank, a white en...

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“PARASITE” by Pamela Saunders

Submitted to Contest #29

I had my eye on my partner early on, when we were both young. Even then I knew that one day I wanted to possess her, to own her totally, to be there for every part of the rest of her life. I watched her at school. She was so happy and bright, took to anything she tried like a duck to water. She joined in everything that she had a chance to and represented the school in so many competitions of all sorts. When she danced, her eyes shone and the blonde wavy bunches in her hair bounced and flapped around, with her green ribbons shaking in time w...

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“Routine” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #29

Daisy wakes me up each day with a kiss. I always sleep longer than her, so she’s always the one to wake me up. I sometimes wonder how long she’s been up before she decides to rouse me – minutes, hours? Does she get up to see the morning sun rising? She doesn’t seem to mind, though; she’s all smiles when I open my eyes.She waits patiently as I put on my slippers and throw on my dressing gown. Daisy never hurries me – even though I’m usually bleary-eyed and clumsy, fumbling my way through the actions. Once we’re both up, we head down to the ki...

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“The Final Test” by Artemisia Pearl

Submitted to Contest #29

Five Years AgoNova “Let me show you what happens when you disobey me,” Maureen says. She looks towards Instructor Matthews. “Take her to the board.” Instructor Matthews grabs my wrist and drags me towards the target, as I am trying to run the other way, but I am too small to overcome his strength. “Don’t be scared. You won’t be too terribly hurt. Mik knows not to aim at a lethal spot. Don’t flinch. If Maureen sees weakness, she’ll take her aim. You can do this.” Instructor Matthews whispers to me. He wants me to put all of my trust int...

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“I Love You” by Najwa Zandlo

Submitted to Contest #29

“I love you,” he says. The room is warm and humid, our sweat mixing in the air, windows slightly cracked to let in the sounds of the warm, Southern night. We’re lying in bed. He has his arm around me in a way that has to be uncomfortable for him but oh-so-comfortable for me. The words are dripping over us – this is the first time he’s said it. This is the part where I’m supposed to say it back, but I’m choking. He’s relaxed against me, slowly falling asleep in the haze. Flashback to five years ago. I was walking down the street with my ...

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$50

Prize money

328

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 21, 2020 EST

Won by Megan Dang 🏆

Title: Time Bomb

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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